Fizzy Does It

I can trace my love of fizz cocktails to more innocent times. As a kid, I discovered the Lime Rickey, a soda fountain favorite consisting of fresh lime slices floating in lime soda. From there, it was just a short step to the Gin Rickey (a Lime Rickey with gin), which in turn led to the classic Gin Fizz, a mix of gin, lemon juice, sugar, and club soda.

What defines a fizz is just that: fizz. Fizzes are simply cocktails from the sour family that include carbonated water. So in addition to seltzer and citrus, you can use any manner of alcohol, from gin to whiskey, vodka, Champagne, tequila, Cognac—you name it. Or instead of seltzer, you can add carbonation with creative substitutions like sparkling tea, ginger beer, or Champagne. Although the fizz will always be associated with the classic—and very rich—brunch favorite, the Ramos Gin Fizz, which includes orange flower water and an egg white, the best examples are light, refreshing, and perfect for cooling off on a warm summer evening.

“Fizzes are meant to be quick and refreshing,” says Jim Meehan, general manager of the bar PDT in New York. “When I think of fizzes, I almost imagine a cowboy Western bar where you walk in and the bartender prepares you a drink that is supposed to dust you off a little.” Meehan serves a Gin Rickey in a highball glass with no ice. “Since fizzes aren’t meant to be sipped and savored, no ice is needed,” Meehan adds.

In fact, if you look back to the 1887 edition of Jerry Thomas’s The Bar-Tender’s Guide, in which six fizz recipes appear, it’s obvious the drink is meant to be enjoyed rather quickly. (An aside: The early references are spelled “fiz.”) Robert Vermeire, in his 1922 compendium Cocktails: How to Mix Them, suggests enjoying fizzes first thing in the morning, adding that “they should be drunk as soon as they are ready.” Charles Roe and Jim Schwenck prefer theirs with lunch. They write in their 1930 Home Bartender’s Guide and Song Book: “Among the old-timers the Golden Fizz always commanded a prominent place. Any one of them, when too rushed for luncheon, would step into a convenient bar, order one of these, grab a sandwich from the free lunch counter, and be on his way, refreshed and with appetite appeased.” The duo also adds that if the reader has never tried a Gin Fizz, “we really can see no reason for your reading this book.”

As for me, I enjoy a fizz before dinner. Thanks to their relatively low alcohol content, fizz cocktails make for a particularly refreshing and delightful preamble to a meal. And while my favorite Gin Rickey couldn’t be easier, I’ve been tempted recently by some more sophisticated versions that have been popping up on cocktail lists. At PDT, Meehan offers a fizz for all seasons. In addition to the populist Gin Rickey, in warmer months he might serve Silver Fizzes (which include egg whites) and Diamond Fizzes (with Champagne), and in cooler months, Golden Fizzes (with egg yolks) and Royal Fizzes (with egg whites and yolks).

In the summer his list lightens up considerably, most notably with the unexpected and sophisticated Golden Star Fizz. It’s made with Krogstad Aquavit (a wonderfully savory aquavit with caraway notes, from Oregon), lemon and pineapple juices, fresh dill, and cucumber, and it gets bubbles from Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea. The aromatics in this cocktail are nothing short of seductive, with caraway and herbal notes and a gorgeous floral, earthy note from the tea.

If you think aquavit is a surprise (and a good one at that) in a fizz, check out the sparkling offerings from Vincenzo Marianella at Copa d’Oro cocktail lounge in Santa Monica, California. He devotes an entire section of the menu to fizzes. Base spirits range from the Italian aperitif Aperol to Cognac, and the drinks get their carbonation from the likes of ginger beer and Prosecco, while fresh citrus juices are sourced from sweet Meyer lemons and ruby red grapefruits. I’ve never tasted a fizz quite so rich and elegant as Marianella’s Fizz the Lyone, which includes Cognac, Chartreuse liqueur, elderflower liqueur, orange bitters, egg white, and ginger beer, and is topped with an edible flower.

But the biggest surprise is his exquisite Jalisco Flower fizz. It’s a drink that is as pretty as it is delicious, and it boasts an inspired mix of just four ingredients: blanco tequila, elderflower liqueur, ruby red grapefruit juice, and Champagne. Served in a Champagne flute, the blanco tequila balances beautifully with the fresh sweet-tartness of the ruby red grapefruit juice, while the elderflower liqueur and Champagne add a little sophistication.

Across town at The Varnish in downtown Los Angeles, co-owner Sasha Petraske (who helped kick-start the cocktail revolution in New York with his bar Milk & Honey) offers a tequila fizz called the Mexican Firing Squad Special. This one is built on tequila with fresh lime juice, house-made grenadine, bitters, and seltzer. It’s served over a single large cube of ice. Given the drink’s brawn, the ice is a nice and welcome touch. It’s probably best to break with tradition and sip this one.

Another favorite fizz incarnation at tropical and desert resorts alike—or frankly any place that’s hot beyond belief—is the Dark and Stormy. While this Caribbean classic is traditionally limited to rum and ginger beer, the inclusion of lime juice lends this refreshing (and high-octane) fizz the requisite citrus—an addition I’ve been seeing in recent renditions that gives a lovely tart note to the spice of the ginger beer and rum. The newly opened Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs, California, serves a great expat version that is made with Bundaberg ginger beer from Australia and includes lime and two types of rum.

Look for fizz recipes on some of the more creative cocktail lists around, and see what your barkeep is made of. Or try one of these three outstanding fizz recipes. You can also riff with whatever is at hand—it can often produce superbly satisfying results (sometimes, alas, it goes the other way). I might do something as simple as mixing vermouth with a little seltzer and fresh Meyer lemon juice, or a splash of whiskey with some bitter lemon soda and a dash of simple syrup. Perhaps I’ll attempt something a little more daring with Champagne, a splash of Pernod, and a few squeezes of juice from a mandarin orange or Key lime. As Magnus Bredenbek wrote the year after the repeal of Prohibition in his book What Shall We Drink?: “There are days ahead, now, for a renewing of cordial relations with the Fizzes, and we might as well start getting acquainted right now!”